What should children eat to maintain growth during Tet?

Maintaining a balanced menu of 4 food groups, ensuring enough meals and food quantity, prioritizing foods that support growth are things to keep in mind for children during Tet.

Children often have an unbalanced diet during Tet, leading to an excess of one nutrient and a deficiency of another. Master, Doctor Nguyen Anh Duy Tung, Nutrihome Nutrition Clinic System, said that children's growth rate may slow down during these days.

Children who lose or gain weight during Tet can be malnourished. For example, children who eat a lot of banh chung, gio thu, candies, and soft drinks will take in excess protein, fat, starch, and sugar but lack vitamins and minerals, and easily gain weight. Malnutrition becomes more severe in underweight, stunted children who eat carelessly and skip meals.

Short-term nutritional problems in children also affect and inhibit optimal growth. Dr. Tung gives some nutritional tips for children for parents to refer to.

Balanced diet with 4 groups of nutrients : Children's Tet meals still need to balance 4 groups of nutrients including starch (rice, porridge, beans, tubers, seeds); protein (meat, fish, eggs, seafood, soybeans), fat (fat, vegetable oil, butter); vitamins, minerals (green vegetables, fruits).

Maintain main and side meals : During Tet, parents should try to maintain their children's main meals not to change too much compared to normal days. Every day, children should have at least one main meal with enough salty dishes, soup, stir-fry. Parents can change the side meals for children with dishes that their children love but diversify to provide all the essential nutrients.

Children should eat enough meals and balance nutrients to ensure comprehensive development. Photo: Freepik — Children should eat enough meals and balance nutrients to ensure comprehensive development. Photo: *Freepik*

Maintain food and milk intake : Parents should give their children the same amount of food as usual or consult a nutritionist. Children should avoid eating too much and should drink milk regularly, with an average of about 4-5 units per day (one unit of milk is equivalent to 100 ml of milk or 100 ml of yogurt, 15 g of cheese).

Prioritize good food : Recommended foods for children during Tet include pork, lean beef, chicken, fish, fresh seafood to provide protein. Fruits, smoothies or fruit juices (guava, orange, tomato, pear, watermelon, apple) and vegetables (spinach, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, watercress) provide fiber and vitamins. Milk and yogurt help children digest well, reduce bloating, diarrhea, constipation.

Doctor Tung noted that children can eat rice and porridge as usual or reduce and replace it with a small piece of banh chung or banh tet. Eat banh chung and banh tet with vegetables, without other starchy dishes. If the family goes on a spring trip, they should research the food sources at the destination in advance to avoid children eating dishes that are too different from usual. Children's digestive systems are not yet mature enough to adapt quickly to strange foods.

Parents should limit giving their children candy, soft drinks, jams, fast food, and processed foods because they provide empty calories, lack vitamins and minerals, are low in fiber, and contain a lot of sugar or salt. Avoid letting your children reuse old food because it may not be safe and hygienic. Watermelon seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc. are also not recommended because they can easily cause children to choke.

Children should drink enough water, eat on time, have regular activities, and maintain physical activity during Tet. Parents should take their children to see a nutritionist so that the doctor can check their health and advise them on a diet to maintain optimal growth during and after Tet.

Kim Thanh

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